Thank you for reading!

You have reached your 30-day limit of free access to SentinelSource.com, The Keene Sentinel’s website. If you would like to read two more articles for free at this time, please register for an account by clicking the “sign up” button below.

We hope you find The Sentinel’s coverage of the Monadnock Region valuable. We rely on our subscribers to bring you strong local journalism and hope you will consider supporting our work by taking advantage of this special subscription offer here.

remaining of

Thank you for reading!
We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.

remaining of

Welcome! We hope that you enjoy our free content.

remaining of

You are accessing your last free article for these last 30 days on SentinelSource.com, The Keene Sentinel’s website. We hope you find The Sentinel’s coverage of the Monadnock Region valuable. We rely on our subscribers to bring you strong local journalism and hope you will consider supporting our work by taking advantage of this special subscription offer here.

Help Local Journalism Thrive

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the local economy and many of the businesses that support local journalism through advertising. These are unprecedented times. We are providing all of our coverage of the novel coronavirus free online; it’s part of our mission to keep all of you up-to-date.
We believe we are performing an essential public service at a time when an informed citizenry is also essential. If you agree, we ask for your support. Please consider subscribing or making a donation today. Learn more at either link below.

State says heart disease tops cancer for deaths

Although heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for decades — killing about 647,000 people annually — in New Hampshire, it surpassed cancer in 2018 for the first time in more than a decade, the state health department announced Monday.

In 2018, 2,640 Granite Staters died from heart disease, compared to 2,540 from cancer, according to the state agency. Numbers for 2019 are not yet available.

“Heart disease” is an umbrella term for a variety of conditions, the most common of which is coronary artery disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking, poor diet, a lack of exercise, high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure can all raise one’s risk of heart disease.

Affecting one in three U.S. adults, high blood pressure can have no symptoms. It is the focus of this year’s American Heart Month (February), New Hampshire health officials said.

“Many people do not know they have high blood pressure,” Dr. Sai Cherala, bureau chief of population health and community services for the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a news release from the agency. “Be sure to have your blood pressure checked at your physician’s office, a pharmacy, or at home.”

And if your blood pressure is high, Cherala noted, there are steps you can take to lower it.

Tips for reducing blood pressure and other heart-disease risk factors include eating a diet low in salt, saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol, not smoking and walking at a quick clip for 10 minutes, three times a day, five days per week, according to the release. Health providers can also prescribe medications to help lower one’s risk.